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The Pentagon says it has halted an airstrike over Syria after Russia and the Syrian government accused Pindo warplanes of responsibility for killing 60 Syrian soldiers. In a statement, CENTCOM admitted it had been carrying out a strike against a suspected Islamic State position in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, but said it called off the assault after Russia said it was Syrian army positions that were being attacked, and not Daesh. Russia says the situation on the ground is worsening and a senior insurgent warns the truce will not hold. Earlier, Syria and Russia had accused the Daesh-led coalition of striking a Syrian army base and blamed the raid for a Daesh advance in the area. It’s feared the strike at Jebel Tharda near Deir al-Zor airport on Saturday will pave the way for Daesh to overrun the facility. Syria’s army general command said in a statement the attack was “conclusive evidence” of Pindo support for Daesh, noting that the strike was “dangerous and blatant aggression.” Daesh said in a statement on its Amaq news channel it had gained “complete control” over Jebel Tharda. The defence ministry in Russia said Pindo jets killed more than 60 Syrian soldiers in four strikes and a fierce battle had erupted near the airport. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (MI6 – RB) cited a military source at Deir al-Zor airport as saying at least 80 Syrian soldiers had been killed in the strike. Russia’s Defence Ministry said if the coalition bombing was a mistake, it was evidence of Washington’s “stubborn refusal” to co-ordinate its actions with Russia’s government. In December, Damascus accused Pindo warplanes of striking an army camp near Deir al-Zor but Washington said it was done by Russian jets. The Observatory said Russian jets had been conducting bombing in the area at the same time, that Daesh took control of army positions on Jebel Tharda after the air strike and that clashes between them had followed. A strike list issued by Pindostan on Saturday said it had carried out a strike at Deir al-Zor against five Daesh supply routes, as well as strikes near Raqqa and elsewhere in Syria. Syria’s army controls Deir al-Zor airport and parts of the city which are otherwise entirely surrounded by territory held by Islamic State.

Pindostan has relayed its regret through the Russian government for what it described as the unintentional loss of life of Syrian forces in an airstrike. Pindosi -led coalition airstrikes have killed dozens of Syrian soldiers, endangering the ceasefire and prompting an emergency UNSC meeting as tensions between Moscow and Washington escalated. The Pentagon said that they stopped the attacks on Saturday against what they had believed to be Daesh positions in north-east Syria after Russia informed it that Syrian military personnel and vehicles may have had been hit. Pindostan relayed its “regret” through the Russian government for what it described as the unintentional loss of life of Syrian forces in the strike, a senior Obama administration official said in an emailed statement. The UNSC met on Saturday night after Russia demanded an emergency session to discuss the incident and accused Pindostan of jeopardising the Syria deal. Pindosi ambassador to the UN Samantha Power chastised Russia for the move. Sounding like a cheap girlie advert from the tabloids, Sam Power told reporters:

Why are we having this meeting tonight? It is a diversion from what is happening on the ground. If you don’t like what is happening on the ground then you distract. It is a magician’s trick. We encourage the Russian Federation to have emergency meetings with the Assad regime and deliver them to this deal. What Russia is alleging tonight is that somehow Pindostan is undermining the fighting against Daesh. The Russian spokesperson even said that Pindostan might be complicit in this attack. This is not a game. The Syrian regime that bills itself as the fighter against ISIL let the group grow and grow. Daesh took root and prospered right next to the Assad regime. The best way to fight Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra is to stop bombing civilians and deliver the Assad regime (sic – RB). Assad’s tactics have been a gift to terrorists. There is a better way forward, but Russia really needs to stop the cheap point-scoring and the grand-standing and the stunts, and focus on what matters which is implementation of something we negotiated in good faith with them… If we determine that we did indeed strike Syrian military personnel, that was not our intention, and we of course regret the loss of life, but since 2011 Assad’s regime have been striking Syrian civilians relentlessly.

When asked if the incident spelled the end of the Syria deal between Moscow and Washington, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said:

Russia’s ambassador to the UN walked out of an emergency meeting of the UNSC to protest Pindostan calling the meeting a “stunt.” Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said after walking out of the meeting that his country called over a Pindosi airstrike in Syria:

I have never … seen such Pindosi heavy-handedness as we’re witnessing today.

Churkin said his Pindo counterpart Samantha Power told him that she was “not interested” in what he had to say, because the meeting was a “stunt,” prompting Churkin to leave. Churkin says:

This is a very serious concern that we wanted and we did share with the UNSC. It is quite significant and frankly suspicious that Pindostan chose to conduct this particular airstrike at this time.

The Obama administration expressed its “regret” Saturday for an airstrike that mistakenly killed Syrian forces, a senior administration official told Fox News, as Pindostan awaited a response from the Assad regime. The Pindo military halted its air raid against Daesh in eastern Syria after learning it struck the Syrian military, said a CENTCOM official. Officials had been watching these forces “for a few days” thinking they were ISIS. The administration official said:

Daesh has relayed our regret through the Russian Federation for the unintentional loss of life of Syrian forces.

Pindo ambassador to the UN Samantha Power lashed out at Russia for requesting an emergency USC meeting Saturday night, calling the request a “stunt.” She said the Russians had blood on their hands after their own attacks in Syria adding:

They’re calling this emergency meeting? Really?

The UNSC scheduled an emergency meeting for Saturday night at Russia’s request to discuss the strike. Syria and Russia said the Pindo military had struck a Syrian military base in Deir el-Zour that was surrounded by Daesh, enabling them to advance. The CENTCOM official described the target as “irregular forces,” adding that multiple Pindo aircraft struck six APCs and one tank which were “out in the open.” The Pindo military informed their Russian counterparts before the strike, but “did not share specifics” of the target, just the airspace and general area. There were “no objections” from the Russians ahead of the airstrike, according to a senior defense official. A Russian Defense Ministry official said Syria has informed them that 62 of its soldiers were killed in the airstrike. The CENTCOM statement read:

The airstrike was halted immediately when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military. Coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit.

Defense Ministry spokesman Maj-Gen I Konashenkov said the airstrike was conducted by two F-16s and two A-10s. Konashenkov said Syrian authorities reported another 100 people wounded. The planes came from the direction of the border with Iraq, he added. He said Daesh surrounding the air base launched an attack on the Syrian army positions after the strike. He added that if the coalition attack was launched by mistake, the reason for it was a “stubborn reluctance by the Pindosi side to coordinate its action against terrorist groups in Syria with Russia.” Daesh has repeatedly attacked the government-held air base, which is an isolated enclave deep in extremist-held territory. The Syrian military said the airstrikes enabled a Daesh advance on a hill overlooking the air base. It called the strike a “serious and blatant attack on Syria and its military,” and “firm proof of the Pindosi support of Daesh and other terrorist group.” Earlier on Saturday, Putin questioned the Pindo commitment to the fragile cease-fire, suggesting that Washington wasn’t prepared to break with “terrorist elements” battling Assad’s forces. Russia has accused Washington of failing to rein in the rebels, and on Saturday Putin asked why Pindostan has insisted on not releasing a written copy of the agreement. Officials have provided details of the agreement in press conferences, but have not released an official document, fuelling suspicions on both sides. Putin said during a trip to Kyrgyzstan:

This comes from the problems that Pindostan is facing on the Syrian track. They still cannot separate the so-called healthy part of the opposition from the half-criminal and terrorist elements. In my opinion, this comes from the desire to keep the combat potential in fighting the legitimate government of Bashar Assad. But this is a very dangerous route.

Sergei Lavrov echoed Putin’s remarks during a phone call with Jackass Kerry. Lavrov noted the “refusal by an array of illegal armed groups to join the cease-fire,” and Washington’s obligation to “separate units of the moderate opposition from terrorist groupings,” according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

Pindo jets bombed a Syrian army position at Jebel Tharda near Deir al-Zor airport on Saturday, killing dozens of Syrian soldiers, Russia said, paving the way for Islamic State to briefly overrun it. The Pindo military, in an apparent admission that it may have hit the position, said in a statement that coalition air strikes near Deir al-Zor had been halted when Russia told coalition officials they may have hit the Syrian army. Syria’s army general command said in a statement that the air strike was “conclusive evidence” of Pindo support for Daesh, noting that the strike was “dangerous and blatant aggression. Daesh said in a statement on its Amaq news channel that it had gained “complete control” over Jebel Tharda, but both Syrian state television and Russian state media said the positions lost to the militant group were later recaptured. The defense ministry in Russia said Pindso jets had killed more than 60 Syrian soldiers in four air strikes by two F-16s and two A-10s coming from the direction of Iraq. Pindo cunts said:

Syria is a complex situation with various military forces and militias in close proximity, but coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group with contacts across the country, cited a military source at Deir al-Zor airport as saying that at least 80 Syrian soldiers had been killed in the strike. Russia’s Defence Ministry said that if the coalition bombing was a mistake, it was evidence of Washington’s “stubborn refusal” to coordinate its actions with the Russian government.

CNN – Hours after Pindo airstrikes reportedly killed dozens of Syrian troops, Pindo and Russian ambassadors to the UN chastised each other outside an emergency UNSC meeting. The strike occurred Saturday in an eastern part of Syria that is not a part of a delicate and nearly week-old ceasefire. The Pindo military said it was targeting ISIS militants and if it hit Syrian troops, it was an accident. Russia and Syria said the strikes prove that Pindostan and its vassals are sympathetic to ISIS. The Russian military said 62 Syrian soldiers were killed near Deir Ezzor Airport, according to state media. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 83 and said at least 120 soldiers were wounded. Vitaly Churkin questioned the timing of the strikes after abruptly leaving a UNSC meeting on the situation in Syria. Churkin was upset with Samantha Power, who lambasted Russia’s support of the Syrian regime to the media outside the meeting while he was speaking. He said:

I have never seen such an extraordinary display of American heavy-handedness.

Power angrily denounced the Russian call for the UNSC meeting as a stunt, saying:

Even by Russia’s standards, tonight’s stunt, a stunt replete with moralism and grandstanding, is uniquely cynical and hypocritical…. Since 2011, the Assad regime has been intentionally striking civilian targets with horrifying, predictable regularity. They have besieged civilian areas, prevented life-saving aid from reaching people who are starving to death, and dying of illnesses that could be treated with basic medicine.

The Pindo military said the coalition thought it was hitting Daesh, but hours later said the airstrike may have struck Syrian soldiers. Although Pindostan hasn’t officially said Syrian troops were killed, a senior administration official told CNN late Saturday that Pindostan relayed its regret through Russia for the “unintentional loss of life.” A statement from CENTCOM said the coalition conferred with the Russian military before the strike. CENTCOM said:

The coalition airstrike was halted immediately when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military.

The Russian military said 62 Syrian soldiers were killed near Deir Ezzor Airport. Sputnik quoted Russian Maj-Gen I Konashenkov as saying two F-16s and two A-10s carried out four strikes. A Daesh official told CNN they broadly described the geographic area to the Russians, as is customary (<i.sic – RB) before the strike but did not give a precise location. The coalition thought it was going after an ISIS tank position. About 25 minutes into the strike, the Russians called Pindostan and said they were hitting Syrian troops, the Pindo official said. Pindostan immediately withdrew and did not strike other planned targets in that area, the official said. Another Pindo official said the Pentagon trusts the Russian military unit that placed the call informing them of the incorrect target and had little doubt something went wrong. Syrian troops have been battling Daesh in Deir Ezzor for years, and they control most of the city. CENTCOM said:

Syria is a complex situation with various military forces and militias in close proximity, but coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit.

Sputnik quoted a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman as sayi9ng:

If this airstrike was carried out due to an error in the coordinates of the target, it is a direct consequence of the Pindo side’s unwillingness to coordinate its actions against terrorist groups with Russia.

Daesh launched an attack on the Syrian position after the airstrikes, Sputnik reported, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense. SANA said the military was able to regain control of the area. The Syrian military said it viewed the strike as evidence that Pindostan and the coalition support ISIS. It called the incident a serious and blatant aggression, SANA reported. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spox Maria Zakharova said Russia had concluded the White House is defending ISIS. She also said that Pindostan didn’t communicate its intention to carry out operations in the area. CNN military analyst Lt-Col (Retd) R Francona said it is not clear now what will happen. He said Saturday:

This might put in danger this Joint Implementation Center that Pindostan and the Russians are supposed to set up in the next few days to coordinate just these kinds of strikes against ISIS and to prevent just what happened.

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“If previously we had suspicions that Al-Nusra Front is protected this way, now, after today’s airstrikes on the Syrian army we come to a really terrifying conclusion for the entire world: The White House is defending IS [Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL],” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Rossiya 24.